Download Charles Darwin: Rough Draft

Tirzah Hansen
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2/16/11
AVID
Charles Darwin: Rough Draft
Charles Darwin was a person who loved to discover and find out the different theories.
His voyage to the Galapagos Islands traveling on the H.M.S. Beagle turned out to be a
discovery of different species. This is where he studied the different plants and animals for
a higher understanding of them. He decided to write a book called the “The Origin of
Species”, reflecting on what natural selection was.
Readings of Adam Smith which led to Darwin's theories in Evolutionary Biology. The
voyage to the Galapagos Islands came after this reading. He decided to make a sketch book
with pictures and descriptions of what he observed and this is what sparked his novel “The
Origin of Species”. With this expedition, the theory of life before man seems true due to all
the evidence presented. There were plenty of clues and facts that were left behind by
previous living creatures. The bones and hardened rock safely protected the artifacts. The
new discovery of new species was then made clear. Finches seemed to be abundant on the
Galapagos Islands, so this was the first assumption that species all are related in some
shape of form. For instance, the finches all descended from other birds that were their
ancestors, but we only now knows this because of what Charles Darwin discovered and
made a given fact.
Oct. 1805 - Dec. 1831: Darwin would receive letters of his voyage plans and successful
adventures. The achievement of exploring the Island opened up doors for the world. With
the unfamiliar location of these creatures the exhilaration seemed endless. Before any of his
explorations as an adult he would always go on little trips or fun activities that started his
interests. He would go hiking, read books, and seemed to really be amused by chemistry as
Tirzah Hansen
Annotation Paper
2/16/11
AVID
well. With the medical knowledge that he proceeded in when going to Medical school, it
made his future easier. He was engaged in the history of animals and the introduction to
stuffing what used to be real animals. The Science museums that he would attend helped
his understanding of the creatures and their environment.
Alfred Russel Wallace was a scientist that inspired Darwin in his evolutions thoughts and
theories. In 1858, the two of them made a joint announcement of their discovery about
there being an evolution. The “Origin of Species” came into progress and was published by
Charles Darwin himself which explained his theory towards evolution. There ended up
being conflicts with the thoughts between the people who read it but turned out to be
supported enough to become the set standards. Within the book there was the explanation
of how homo sapiens were another form of an animal.
“The Descent of Man”, and “Selection in Relation to Sex” (1871), were other famous
works of literature that he wrote. They discussed the related theories that came about in
“The Origin of Species” as well. The thoughts of evolution were extremely common
throughout the whole spill of his past experiences with the different species on the
Galapagos Islands. When Darwin decided to go on the voyage on the Beagle, he felt such
enthusiasm and wanted to carry on with this wonderful adventure. “The feeling was almost
of a second birth”, he quotes. With the long rocking of the boat and how the time seemed to
pass slowly he would typically be writing in his journal or drawing images of what he saw
along the way. When he actually reached the Islands he would get so involved and decided
to take up this type of sport more often. About 1,800 miles southwest of the Canary Islands
Tirzah Hansen
Annotation Paper
2/16/11
AVID
the Beagle visited São Tiago, a volcanic island in the Cape Verde Islands. Darwin reasoned
that a stream of lava from the ancient volcanoes had flowed over what had been ancient
seabed, baking it to form the hard white rock. Darwin also realized that the island's surface
had been formed by a succession of volcanic events, not a single dramatic one.
His theory of the evolution also followed the ability of adaptation that these creatures go
through. The diversity of the different animals and plants shows the variety of these
organisms and how they are all unique but are some how related. With the study of these
creatures and how they react to their environments shows just how crucial it is for them to
survive and what different tactics they use to live this way. The path that each one follows
is special and they are naturally born with certain instincts. With such little technology
back then, the way to figure out information about the organisms was a bit challenging.
When an animal would get involved with a certain activity the way it went about achieving
this task will be different then if a totally different creature took part in it as well. With the
observations that took place on these islands, it would have been impossible for Darwin to
even make a prediction at all. He did try and determine what he would discover, but he was
way off. The different ways to study on this island were what he was taught in medical
school. He was able to use the techniques and pursued in his expedition this way.
Tirzah Hansen
Annotation Paper
2/16/11
AVID